The Arts Society Summer 2020

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IS ALICE THE ART WORLD’S BIGGEST INFLUENCER? CAPTURING THE BEAUTY OF OUR LANDSCAPES

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#MYARTSSOCIETY

TELL US WHY YOU JOINED THE ARTS SOCIETY

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EDMUND DE WAAL GETS POLITICAL AND PERSONAL

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Cover

THE ARTS SOCIETY MAGAZINE SUMMER 2020 / £3.50

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On our cover: artist and writer Edmund de Waal

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WELCOME

THE ARTS SOCIETY

Enriching lives through the arts The Arts Society House, 8 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1DA Tel: 020 7430 0730 theartssociety.org magazine@theartssociety.org

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THE ARTS SOCIETY MAGAZINE Published on behalf of The Arts Society by Think, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH Tel: +44 (0)20 3771 7200 thinkpublishing.co.uk

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Editor: Sue Herdman Art Director: Peter Charles Chief Sub-Editor: Marion Thompson Digital Editor: Holly Black Listings Editor: Annie Davies Group Account Director: Rachel Walder Advertising Sales: Sonal Mistry, Group Advertising Manager, 020 3771 7247, sonal.mistry@thinkpublishing.co.uk Printing: Wyndeham Southernprint Ltd The Arts Society Magazine is published quarterly by The Arts Society and circulated to its membership.

The views expressed in The Arts Society Magazine are not necessarily those of the Chairman, Trustee Board or the Editors. Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in The Arts Society Magazine . However, neither The Arts Society nor NEL Ltd can accept responsibility for inaccuracies or omissions. Articles, photographs, drawings, etc in The Arts Society Magazine may not be reproduced without the written permission of the Chief Executive of The Arts Society. The Society accepts no responsibility for goods and services advertised in The Arts Society Magazine , whether the advertiser is a Member or not. Advertisements are published for convenience of Members, and Members choosing to buy or sell through the medium of this magazine do so entirely at their own risk. © The Arts Society 2020

PRUDENCE CUMING PHOTOGRAPH: ASSOCIATES DAMIEN HIRST AND SCIENCE LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS 2020 ©

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Patron: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester Chair: Julie Goldsmith President: Loyd Grossman CBE Vice Presidents: Martin Drury; Philippa Glanville OBE; Desmond Shawe-Taylor; Alison Richmond Chief Executive: Florian Schweizer

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rt is a powerful tool for healing. During our spring of uncertainty, as we navigated a new way of living and thinking, it has played a supportive role. As fresh words and phrases entered our vocabulary – Zoom, lockdown, Covid-19 – the arts world opened its digital doors to create initiatives that gave balance to alarming news feeds. Along with our collective, heightened awareness of the power of nature – what a boon a beautiful spring was – and a return to a certain groundedness in our lives, those digital offerings offered dynamic access to art.

We’ve streamed dance, theatre, opera, comedy and orchestral sessions to our homes; and we’ve been invited to post Hopperesque selfies (was ever an artist more suited to isolation than Edward Hopper?). Thousands have tapped into Grayson Perry’s Art Club on screen. Artists including Peter Blake and Damien Hirst have made downloadable art to support charities. At The Arts Society we, too, have been fleet of foot, and we review our lockdown response in this issue. Thank you to all who have joined our online arts talks, the new Connected site and the forums.

Throughout this time we’ve also AT THE ARTS SOCIETY WE, TOO, been working on this, your summer HAVE BEEN FLEET OF FOOT, AND issue. Within the pages you’ll find WE REVIEW OUR LOCKDOWN our exclusive interview with artist and writer Edmund de Waal. I’ll RESPONSE IN THIS ISSUE leave you with a few lines, posted by de Waal on his Instagram, by his favourite poet, Paul Celan. Thread suns / above the grey-black wilderness / A tree- / high thought / tunes in to light’s pitch: there are / still songs to be sung on the other side / of mankind. Poetry, as with all forms of art, can take us to other places – and bring hope. From all of us on the magazine team, we wish you a happy, safe and hopeful summer.

Damien Hirst’s Butterfly Rainbow, created to support NHS Charities Together and The Felix Project

SUE HERDMAN EDITOR

GET IN TOUCH!

Send us your views at magazine@theartssociety.org Sign up for our monthly arts news and Instant Expert at theartssociety.org/signup THEA RT SSOCIET Y .ORG / 03

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Contents, 1

CO N TE NTS THE ARTS SOCIETY MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2020

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06 OUR RESPONSE How we’ve enabled Members to stay connected during the pandemic

spring? Charlie Waite explores the power of capturing the beauty of land on camera

08 OPINION

38 #MYARTSSOCIETY

Art is a powerful combatant to ill health, says Dr Daisy Fancourt

What spurred you to join The Arts Society? Eight Members give us their views and share their experiences

12 5 THINGS TO DO Five ideas for summer arts activity

14 INSTANT EXPERT The searing story behind a work by one of the 20th century’s key artists, Derek Jarman

16 OF PORCELAIN AND PILGRIMAGE

44 WHAT’S ON Start planning ahead for must-see arts openings

50 SOCIETIES NEWS All your news, plus Chief Executive Florian Schweizer’s column

Our exclusive interview with the artist, potter and writer Edmund De Waal

56 SPECIAL READER OFFERS

22 THE LURE OF WONDERLAND

57 BOOKS

Arts Society Lecturer Elizabeth Merry investigates the influence of Alice

The latest arts and culture reads

28 OUT ON THE LAND

Sky Portrait Artist of the Year winner Christabel Blackburn reveals her choices

Could photographing our landscapes be an antidote to our confined

Our curated offers for you

58 THE ART THAT MADE ME

CONTRIBUTORS

DR DAISY FANCOURT Daisy is associate professor of behavioural science and health at University College London, where her research focuses on the health effects of social and cultural participation. We ask her for her findings inside CHARLIE WAITE Charlie is a renowned landscape photographer – and an Arts Society Lecturer. We asked him, when all have been seeking calm, what makes landscape photography one of the more mindful arts CHRISTABEL BLACKBURN Christabel is an artist who studies and specialises in the human form, creating fine, pared-down works (see above, right). Winner of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2020, inside she reveals the art that has influenced her

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London Art Studies

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Covid response, 1

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2020 RBA Star Student Anna Peake’s prelockdown self-portrait

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We have some 90,000 Members across 10 countries – and over 380 Societies and 360 Accredited Lecturers. As a leading arts education charity with such a global network, we bring people together through a shared love for the arts. But in a time of lockdown – an experience so new to us all – how were we all going to be able to stay connected, while staying at home? As the government broke news of initiatives to keep us safe, we set to work creating a new digital platform that would ensure that Members – and anyone who wished to join us – could enjoy great, free arts content in their own homes.

Our aim was to help you all stay connected, entertained and informed over the period of lockdown. We know how the arts can nourish and empower, divert and bring joy. Our core aims as a charity are

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CONNECTING IN CRISIS As the country went into lockdown in March, we set to work creating new initiatives to ensure that all at The Arts Society could stay connected. This is how we did it

‘WE BELIEVE THE ARTS HAVE THE POWER TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER, AND WE HAVE NOT LET THIS VIRUS STOP COMMUNITIES FROM ENJOYING THE ARTS WITH EACH OTHER’ CHIEF EXECUTIVE FLORIAN SCHWEIZER

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to create a better, healthier and more connected society through the arts. And if we couldn’t do this face to face, we knew we could harness the power of digital to help us do so.

We launched The Arts Society Connected on 7 April, just 15 days after the government announced lockdown in the UK on the evening of 23 March.

Working with our Accredited Lecturers, we created exclusive video lectures for our new platform, uploaded every other Tuesday at 11am – and we asked you to watch together and join community forums online to discuss the talks. We hosted film screenings in a new partnership with Exhibition on Screen. And we rolled out a package of social media training for you,

our Societies, to help get you connected in the digital world. We also launched our Star Students Isolation Artwork Competition. We’ve invited past exhibitors of the RBA/Arts Society Star Students to submit artworks they have created during lockdown, or that touch on the theme of isolation. The top 10 selected by our judges are now on the Connected site (connected. theartssociety.org/isolation-artworkcompetition); you have until 30 June to vote for your favourite.

‘We wanted to recreate and promote a sense of community, belonging and connection during a time of isolation and distancing,’ says Chief Executive Florian Schweizer. ‘We believe the arts have the power to bring people together, and we have not let this virus stop communities from enjoying the arts with each other.

We have worked with our thousands of volunteers to develop new skills and initiatives, building resilience and a future in which many of our Members will embrace digital as a valuable addition to their cultural experience.’

Thank you to all of you for your engagement with – and contributions to – the initiatives that we have launched in this time. As with all organisations, this has been a time of huge challenges, but we have worked together to rise to them.

SHARE THE LINK!

The Arts Society Connected at connected.theartssociety.org

Lecturers like Marc Allum (above) and Sarah Dunant (right) are delivering lectures to your homes

_ The winner of our Star Students Isolation Artwork Competition will be announced on 7 July _ Our next online talk is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fit of Rage: When his Third Symphony became the Eroica, with Arts Society Lecturer Sandy Burnett on 30 June

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Opinion, 1

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Getting creative could be the best thing for your health, says Dr Daisy Fancourt, whose work centres on the benefits of social and creative participation on our wellbeing

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In an era of ever-evolving health fads, the idea that the arts are good for us might sound like just the latest ‘fashion’ – but the idea is as old as the arts themselves. The first pieces of art ever found, dated by archaeologists to around 40,000 years ago, appear to have been created for use in healing and fertility rituals. This relationship between the arts and health can be traced across history since, from ancient medical traditions (consider Apollo, god of healing and music) to scientific treatises of the 18th century.

When people hear about the arts and health they think of arts therapies, where trained therapists use the arts as a tool to support communication and the regulation of emotions with patients. But just engaging in the arts for the pure joy of it has been shown to have intrinsic health

‘ENGAGING IN THE ARTS REDUCES OUR RISK ACROSS OUR LIVES OF DEVELOPING DEPRESSION, CHRONIC PAIN, COGNITIVE DECLINE OR FRAILTY ’ benefits. In fact, there are hundreds of programmes around the country that use the arts to manage or treat health conditions. There are singing programmes for mums and babies to reduce maternal postnatal depression; dance classes for people with Parkinson’s disease to help improve walking; choirs for people with lung disease to improve respiratory capacity; and magic camps for children with cerebral palsy, to improve hand function Dancing brings mental and physical and dexterity. It’s not health benefits just when we’re ill that the arts can have benefits. Engaging in the arts reduces our risk across our lives of developing depression, chronic pain, cognitive decline or frailty.

This research has major implications for the delivery of healthcare. In the UK, we’re facing increasing problems such as loneliness, social isolation and low mood.

These account for 30-50% of GP visits,

but they’re not problems that have medical solutions. Even for conditions such as chronic pain, depression and anxiety, pills are widely acknowledged as sticking plasters: they might help with some symptoms, but they don’t necessarily address the underlying problems. The arts, however, can, from helping us to regulate our emotions to building a sense of identity, enhancing meaning in life and supporting cognition. Exposure to the arts can increase brain activation, decrease stress hormones, reduce cardiovascular stress, increase social bonding, improve group cohesion and self-control, and encourage engagement in other healthy behaviours.

So it’s not surprising that healthcare systems around the world are showing increasing interest in the arts. Within the UK, the government has invested in ‘social prescribing’. Now, if you visit your GP, as well as being prescribed pills, you can also be prescribed book clubs, choirs, arts classes and crafts groups. By 2023, the government wants to see one million people a year going through this scheme, as already there is evidence that it is cutting down on GPs’ workloads and the prescribing of medication, and is saving the NHS money. This is a radical change to how we see healthcare: instead of placing the GP and medicines as the solution to every problem, it’s shifting our focus to everyday self-care activities, like the arts, that could, for many of the common health problems we encounter, help us to stay healthy. So when we think about our health behaviours – getting our 30 minutes of exercise and eating our five a day – we should also think about whether the arts could help, whether that’s 15 minutes of creative activity set aside each day, or setting up a new arts group within the community to help others to get engaged. Perhaps a painting or poem a day really could help to keep the doctor away.

Dr Daisy Fancourt is associate professor of epidemiology at University College London.

Her book Arts in Health: Designing and Researching Interventions is published by Oxford University Press

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OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES DRAWN FROM ACROSS THE ARTS WORLD REPRO OP SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT TUSCANY, ITALY RADICOFANI, © CHARLIE WAITE

INSIDE • Our interview with Edmund de Waal • The art of Alice in Wonderland • A canvas by Derek Jarman • The power of landscape photography

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SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS

THINGS TO DO THIS

From pottery to podcasts, seek out our inspirational culture choices for this season

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Do you know which London street Vincent van Gogh once lived on?

Or which house Reynolds, Rossetti or Turner owned? A blue plaque artist trail in our capital reveals all.

Walking has been on the up in our lockdown spring, with the nation taking advantage of our one hour of outdoor exercise a day. As a result, thousands of us have discovered local arts, culture and heritage trails that we may have missed before.

A rich cache of information on these are held at local town halls and tourist offices (and online).

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For the London artists trail, see english-heritage.org.uk/ visit/blue-plaques

TAP INTO A PODCAST Listen in to National Trust free podcasts in this, its 125th anniversary year. Discover the dark tale of Penrhyn Castle in Wales or ‘head’ to Cornwall, to mine the past of the tin coast. Tune in as Kirsty Wark explores suffrage histories of Trust sites, while Clare Balding reveals lost and hidden LGBTQ stories. Or take an aural stroll through some of the Trust’s stunning gardens (seen here, Thomas Hardy’s Dorset cottage garden in summer). We especially liked the episode on how gardens heal, with music journalist Alice Vincent, in which she reveals how the most unlikely spaces can be transformed into beautiful, restorative micro-gardens. _

Find out more at nationaltrust.org.uk/features /listen-to-podcasts-from-the-national-trust

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From the Royal Academy to the tiniest galleries, the arts world brimmed with digital activity this spring. Now, as we hope for openings (and reopenings), don’t miss the chance to enjoy online elements of shows that, in real time, are now closed. Pine’s Eye at Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh explored what it means to be human in times of ecological change. It featured work from contemporary artists and indigenous groups. Seen

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ALAN HUNT, GROUSE/TALBOT RICE GALLERY, THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

Salisbury Cathedral’s spectacular show, Celebrating 800 Years of Spirit and Endeavour, features work by some of the biggest figures in 20th- and 21stcentury art, among them Henry Moore, Antony Gormley, Mark Wallinger, Grayson Perry and Craigie Aitchison. Created to mark the 800th anniversary of the laying of the cathedral’s foundation stones, the exhibition was due to open as we went into lockdown. If, as we go to press, restrictions still stop you from visiting, enjoy a virtual tour and read the in-depth catalogue of the works, which include Conrad Shawcross’s steel Formation (The Dappled Light of the Sun), seen here. _ See salisburycathedral.org.uk/spirit-and-endeavour-virtual-art-tour

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For the latest on Leach 100’s national and international happenings, see leachpottery.com

IMAGE: ROELOF UYS

The world of studio pottery is marking 100 years since Bernard Leach, with his friend, the potter Shōji Hamada, established the hugely influential Leach Pottery in St Ives in Cornwall. Leach pioneered an integrated style, drawing on influences from the Far East and pre-industrial England, and he inspired many to pursue a life making studio pottery. Seen here is apprentice Leach potter Annabelle Smith’s tactile, fluted bottle.

here are Canadian First Nation artist Alan Hunt’s Atlakim Masks.

His Kwakwaka’wakw people from Canada performed their Dance of the Forest Spirits ceremony to open the show. See it – and learn about the intriguing art in this exhibition – now at trg.ed.ac.uk

See our in-depth listings from page 44 For our top arts events each month, sign up to theartssociety.org/signup Please check for latest information on openings

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5 Things, 1

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Derek Jarman, Queer, 1992

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CLARION CALL Derek Jarman was one of the most influential figures in 20thcentury British culture. Here, we explore the story behind one of his powerful works, from the collection of Manchester Art Gallery

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the word, seeing it as an alternative to rigid labels of sexual and gender identity.

The painting was commissioned as part of Jarman’s Queer series… …by what was then Manchester City Art Galleries, at the height of the storm of hysteria surrounding the AIDS/HIV crisis.

The series, which Jarman based on homophobia and vilification of AIDS sufferers, featured in an exhibition of the same name. Many of the works incorporated newsprint texts under the layers of paint, taken from screeching tabloid headlines about the two subjects.

The works were monumental.

They were some of the biggest Jarman had ever produced. This particular one was eight-by-four feet in size. It became the poster for the show, and the gallery raised funds to buy the work for its collection.

This work is called Queer.

Painted in 1992, in rigorous thick layers, impasto-style, the bloodred oil paint is marked with a heart half-painted, halfscratched onto its surface.

Jarman used a cutlery knife to score the word ‘Queer’ across the heart, with flecks and smudges of blue, off-green and white paint underneath made visible. The word was important to Jarman.

In his book of the same year, At Your Own Risk, he wrote: ‘For me to use the word “queer” is a liberation; it was a word that frightened me, but no An early, 1958 self-portrait by the artist longer.’ He had reclaimed

‘I painted these pictures fast and loose…’ …Jarman wrote. Having diversified into so many art mediums, he noted how: ‘I discovered I had never forgotten my canvas and the paint went on with ease.’ In his diary he recorded how he dipped his ‘hands in the paint’ and then clawed ‘the canvas as if I am trying to break out of the limits of my painted language’. Industrial quantities of paint were used and some 17

paintings were achieved, urgently, furiously, in 14 days. But there was a poignant context to them. Jarman’s health was by now deeply compromised. The paintings had to be achieved through collaboration, with help from assistants to mix paints and prepare canvasses. Yet it is said that such was Jarman’s verve for the project, that some of these intense, expressive works were finished in just hours. The following year, almost blind and even weaker, he was still painting. He was to die, aged 52, in 1994 from HIV-related illness.

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Derek Jarman began his career as a painter.

He trained at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1963 to 1967, and went on to become a pioneering film-maker, stage designer, sculptor, poet and costume and performance artist. Among his films were the groundbreaking Sebastiane (1976), Jubilee (1977) and Caravaggio (1986).

He directed music videos for figures such as the Pet Shop Boys, Marianne Faithfull and The Smiths. He was a prolific author.

His garden and home, Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, have been described by Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar as ‘a living, breathing work of art’. He was also, critically, a passionate LGBT+ rights activist. Diagnosed as HIV positive in 1986, against the backdrop of societal fear about the disease, he became one of the UK’s first public figures to reveal his diagnosis and talk openly about living with AIDS.

SEE The exhibition Derek Jarman PROTEST! at Manchester Art Gallery has been postponed; for up-to-date details see manchesterartgallery.org The book Derek Jarman: PROTEST! is published by Thames and Hudson; thamesandhudson.com

Discover an art story each month with our new ‘Instant Expert’ email from an Arts Society Lecturer. Just sign up at theartssociety.org/signup

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THE ARTS SOCIETY INTERVIEW

OF PORCELAIN Clay and words are the focus of Edmund de Waal’s practice – but that is changing. He tells Sue Herdman about his new direction, which is political and personal, and why he is evangelical about the arts for children

OPPOSITE: your name, 2019 © EDMUND DE WAAL; THIS PAGE: © THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

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here are certain things we know about Edmund de Waal. He is an artist and a writer. His book The Hare with Amber Eyes – the tale of his paternal grandmother’s powerful family in Vienna, who lost everything and fled Nazism for Britain – has sold 1.5 million copies and been translated into 30 languages. We know, too, that de Waal is a potter whose practice has evolved into conceptual art, exhibited across the world. He has written about Augustus the Strong, known for his lusts and vices and his die Porzellankrankheit – his ‘porcelain sickness’. When Augustus died in 1733 he owned 35,798 pieces. The artist sympathises. He loves porcelain. He is known for it.

What we might not know about de Waal is that there is change in his practice. ‘Things,’ he tells me, ‘are on the move.’ His latest work, he says, is ‘on a bigger, more complex and political scale than I’ve made before. It is the most significant and, unequivocally, the most

personal work to date.’ That work is, in ways, a giant vessel. With a porcelain exterior, it has an interior space that holds something. ‘We all know how a vessel has that strange “inside”, a space that you can’t quite read – like a breath, it holds more than you know,’ says the artist. But this has a space that you can get to know. It is a clay-coated library – a space, says de Waal, ‘where my work as a wordsmith and potter collides’.

WORDS AND ART

Left: your name 2019, porcelain vessels, alabaster and marble blocks and gold leaf

Above: de Waal in his library of exile, as it opened at the British Museum

It is called library of exile and it pays homage to lost libraries, from that of ancient Nineveh to those more recently gone in Tripoli and Mosul. The work also represents, says de Waal, ‘what it means to have to move to another country, to speak another language. I’ve been thinking about what we take into exile, and what you give when you are there.’ The library holds 2,000 books by exiled authors, almost all written in translation, alluding to the idea of language as a form of migration. Among the writers are Ovid, Dante and Judith

‘IT’S ALWAYS PERSONAL – I’M MAKING THIS FOR MY GREATGRANDFATHER, VICTOR, WHO SAW HIS LIBRARY STOLEN’

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THE ARTS SOCIETY INTERVIEW

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De Waal discovered pottery aged five, when his father took him to local art classes, the lure of clay irresistible to the child. One of his earliest pots was white: ‘I wanted to see it more clearly,’ he recalls, ‘with all its flaws and nubs.’

I ask him for his response to the loss of arts access in schools. ‘I’m evangelical about it,’ comes the answer; he is a trustee of the National Saturday Club, which gives free arts education to children. ‘The things that we took for granted – the libraries, places where you could try books and have quiet, whatever background you came from – those democratic places of learning are completely threatened. I took it for

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Amsterdam. Years later he became Dean of Canterbury Cathedral. The artist’s mother, Esther, is a scholar of Benedictine and Celtic traditions.

De Waal was brought up with his three brothers in a house that was part medieval monastery. As with others whose childhood home was one where so many and so much comes to the door, de Waal has an ease and warmth with people. A tall, Gormley-like figure, he has had his lofty studio, a former munitions factory in south London, designed into a series of light, quiet, pale spaces. One is his own library.

Another holds his potter’s wheel and the ‘incredibly uncomfortable’ bench he has sat on for 40 years. It feels monastic. It’s no surprise to discover that one of his favoured artists is Pieter Saenredam (1597–1665), the Dutch painter of poetic, pure, peaceful – and white – ecclesiastical spaces.

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Below: porcelain detail of de Waal’s work your name

name your

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Kerr. Some 800 books come from de Waal’s own collection; others from donations. Visitors can handle and read the books and ‘adopt’ them, writing their names on ex libris slips inside titles that have a special meaning for them. Sharing the space with the books is a quartet of the artist’s vitrines, filled with pieces made of porcelain, marble and steel. They are called psalm, I-IV (2019). De Waal likes vitrines. ‘You look harder at an object when there is space around it,’ he explains. ‘A vitrine holds an object and gives you a holding space.’

And he has described psalms as ‘songs of exile and songs of place’.

Exhibited first in Venice, then Dresden, the work opened at the British Museum just as Covid-19 changed our lives and closed institutions. To view, it is a giant cube in de Waal’s signature colour – white. Its exterior walls are coated in gold leaf, then brushed in porcelain. The names of lost libraries are scored in the slip, the gold glinting through. On one side de Waal has written: ‘It’s always personal – I’m making this for my great-grandfather, Victor, who saw his library stolen.’ On another, the prophetic 1822 words of Jewish poet Heinrich Heine: ‘Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn human beings too.’ Over 100 years later, in 1933, there were book burnings in Germany of works associated with an ‘un-German spirit’. library of exile goes deeply into de Waal’s exploration of what it is like to have a father who is a refugee and a grandmother who was a writer and an exile. De Waal’s father, Victor, arrived as a child on UK shores from

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‘I TOOK IT FOR GRANTED, TOO, THAT PART OF OUR LEARNING AT SCHOOL WAS THAT YOU COULD MAKE A MESS… YOU COULD ENCOUNTER ART MAKING. THAT, TOO, IS DEEPLY THREATENED ’ granted, too, that part of our learning at school was that you could make a mess. You could pick up materials, use clay and colour and fabrics and try things out. You could learn how creativity was gloriously complex and happenstance. You could encounter art making. That, too, is deeply threatened.

Creating with clay doesn’t hit a “target”.

The system is about testing. Exams disenfranchise kids for whom words and sums don’t work.’

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De Waal has now worked with clay for 50 years: ‘that’s quite a lot of pots’.

Success did not come fast. He spent hard years working alone, in the wilds of Herefordshire, in urban Sheffield, selling little. ‘I was profoundly lonely – and I don’t see the creative value in being unhappy. It doesn’t, in my opinion, make you a better artist. But the hours alone, making, were a deep training.’ It was in Sheffield in the 1980s that he began to work with porcelain,

‘the most mesmeric material in the world’. Readers of his pilgrimage novel about porcelain, The White Road, will understand his passion for it. ‘It has an incredible, alchemical, migratory, resonant history to it,’ he says.

It took five years to write the book.

I wonder what de Waal’s writing processes involve. ‘I write everywhere and whenever I can. But there is no method. It’s just sheer hard work. And I begin again each time,’ he smiles. There

is, he reveals, to be another pilgrimage, another book – the subject of which he is holding close. In the meantime he has been at work on a project that a spring of pandemic has delayed. The focus is Henry Moore, and de Waal has turned curator. Called This Living Hand, his exhibition explores the role of touch and iconography in Moore’s art. ‘I’ve never done an exhibition with the word “hand” in it. I am drilling deep into Moore’s obsession with picturing his own hands and those of other people. Some of the most moving of his drawings are of the aged, arthritic hands of Nobel Prizewinning chemist Professor Dorothy Hodgkin. They have such incredible dignity. And I love his Madonna’s hands in his pietà. It’s an extraordinary representation of motherhood.

Compassionate. Tough. As she holds the hand of Christ, her dead son, she is holding the whole of the world.’

CARVED IN STONE

Spurred by this show, de Waal keeps his art ‘on the move’. Having secured the last of the iron-rich limestone from Hornton quarry that Moore once favoured, he has created his first work in stone. ‘The great dream of any curator is to encourage people to slow down,’ he says. Working with a stone carver, three austere, scalloped, smooth, long benches have been made. They are called tacet, after composer John Cage’s silent piece. The word is the music term for ‘silence’. Cage thought silence did not exist. We should simply listen, open our ears to what is there. And so, de Waal hopes, visitors will sit and truly see what is before them.

PHOTO: GEMMA LEVINE/REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE HENRY MOORE FOUNDATION

© THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Left: de Waal’s library of exile on opening at the British Museum

Above: the hands of Henry Moore positioning three found objects

The benches are beautiful, purposeful art. As is library of exile. Already it has welcomed large numbers of people, from children to refugees. It has hosted readings by exiles and performances of music and dance. It is a place in which to learn and think and come to understand other cultures. When it is taken down, the books will go to Mosul, where a new library is being built. As a potter, de Waal started his career making fine, useful domestic objects. Now he makes art that, as Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum says, ‘addresses questions that matter’. It will be fascinating to see what de Waal will do next: could there be a response in porcelain to a pandemic?

SEE library of exile, at the British Museum, London; until 8 September; britishmuseum.org This Living Hand: Edmund de Waal Presents Henry Moore at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Hertfordshire; 31 March–31 October 2021; henry-moore.org *Please check sites for the latest details on openings

FIND OUT MORE For more on Edmund de Waal see edmunddewaal.com Saturday Club Trust: saturday-club.org

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PETER BLAKE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS 2019 ©

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ALICE AND ART

Left: print by Peter Blake from a suite illustrating Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1970 Right: John Tenniel’s illustration of the Mad Hatter’s tea party

THE LURE OF

WONDERLAND Is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland one of the art world’s biggest influencers?

As a major new exhibition explores the tale, Arts Society Lecturer Elizabeth Merry peers through the looking glass for evidence

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uriouser and curiouser,’ says Alice, finding herself ‘opening out like the largest telescope that ever was’, after consuming a cake labelled ‘EAT ME’. Curiouser and curiouser has been the impact of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s two ‘Alice’ tales, written over 150 years ago to entertain and amuse young Alice Liddell. Never out of print, they’ve been translated into over 170 languages and have inspired art and sculpture, stage and screen, ballet, opera, fashion and musicals. The first pantomime performance was in 1886; Dodgson himself was in the audience. Since then both books have undergone intense and detailed scrutiny, encompassing a gamut of disciplines and theories.

These include psychoanalytical expositions ranging from sexuality and perversion to insanity and psychosis; the unpicking of perceived symbolism in Dodgson’s writing – both content and format – and a

multitude of visual interpretations by a huge number of artists.

The books offer rich and fascinating resources for pictorial inspiration.

The initial illustrator was Dodgson himself – not yet world famous as Lewis Carroll – a maths don at Oxford, whose original handwritten illustrated copy was his 1864 Christmas present to Alice Liddell. He planned to print it privately, providing himself with a stock of books to give away as presents.

However, when Macmillan & Co agreed to publish he decided the quality of his draughtsmanship was inadequate.

Enter John Tenniel. The successful Punch cartoonist, initially reluctant, was won over by the fantasy and originality of the story. His illustrations remain the most familiar: meticulous, detailed images, which became inextricably identified with both books. There’s grotesquery aplenty, hidden caricatures of public figures of the day, and a little blonde Alice, who

became both a prototype for several future illustrators, and a model for performance adaptations of the tales.

For many people still, Tenniel’s pictures are as integral to the books as Dodgson’s narratives.

THROUGH THE GLASS

When Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland came out of copyright in 1907 artists rushed to get in on the act. Trawling through some of these early-20th-century illustrations provides a fascinating glimpse into the artistic trends of the time, with insights into the styles and preoccupations of their creators. Arthur Rackham, already established as a children’s illustrator, portrayed an Edwardian Alice. Older than her Tenniel predecessor, she is calm and composed despite Rackham’s disturbing world of gloomy woods, gnarled trees and strange, scary creatures. Rackham glances back at the Pre-Raphaelites, but is also influenced

‘WHEN ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND CAME OUT OF COPYRIGHT IN 1907 ARTISTS RUSHED TO GET IN ON THE ACT’

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by Dorothea Tanning, 1943 Below: ‘Cheshire cat’, a psychedelic poster by Joseph McHugh, published in California in 1967

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by Art Nouveau. His style, however, is very much his own – imaginative, complex images invoking the darker fantasies of traditional folklore.

Rackham’s contemporary, Charles Robinson (brother of William Heath Robinson) was another early illustrator.

He produced accomplished drawings owing something to the aesthetic Art Nouveau works of Aubrey Beardsley.

Robinson’s pictures contrast large areas of black and white with intricate detail and fine line; like Beardsley, he designed them in full-page layout with decorations bursting out of the frame.

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all nine minutes of it, galloping through incidents in the story and starring 18-year-old actress May Clark as a rather mature Alice. Since then there have been some 40 more, including Walt Disney’s 1951 cartoon – a ‘feelgood’ movie to brighten up post-war austerity – and Jonathan Miller’s 1966 BBC version, which he described as: ‘A Victorian fantasy about the perils and pains of growing up.’ Miller’s Alice is a serious, fey child, verging on puberty, drifting through a series of surreal, Neo-Gothic set pieces and encountering odd people, for Miller’s animals are eccentric Victorian grown-ups.

BY EAST TOTEM PUBLISHED WEST. MUSEUM NO. E.3796-2004. © VICTORIA AND ALBERT LONDON MUSEUM,

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‘DURING THE 1960S, DECADE OF FLOWER POWER AND THE SUMMER OF LOVE, ALICE’S DREAM ADVENTURES CONVERTED HER INTO A HIPPY-TRIPPY ICON’

MUSEUM, LONDON

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ALICE AND ART

© SALVADOR DALI, FUNDACIÓ GALA-SALVADOR DALÍ, DACS 2019. DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART, GIFT OF LYNNE B AND ROY G SHELDON, 1999.183.12_2

Left: Salvador Dalí, A Mad Tea Party, 1969

‘AS THE CENTURY ADVANCED, HITHERTO UNCRITICAL ADMIRATION OF THE BOOKS YIELDED TO SOME DISTURBING SUGGESTIONS’

As the century advanced, child psychology moved centre stage.

Hitherto uncritical admiration of the books yielded to some disturbing suggestions, notably Dodgson’s perceived obsession with little girls.

A few illustrators of the 1940s reveal some unease in their pictures. Mervyn Peake, creator of the Gormenghast trilogy, produced his Alice illustrations in the post-war years. His grinning Cheshire cat is terrifying; Alice looks anxious and fearful. Peake suffered a nervous breakdown during the war; for him Alice’s dream was like a nightmare.

LAND OF DREAMS

Dreams are fundamental to Surrealism, exploring through art the realms of the subconscious, irrational and imaginary.

Painter Dorothea Tanning and her lover then husband, Max Ernst, produced pictures influenced by Alice. In Tanning’s 1943 Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (previous page) the background is a set of doors – portals to the unknown – mirroring Alice’s arrivals in that series of strange settings in Wonderland.

Ernst created artworks reflecting the illusory imagery of the looking glass, also displacement and escape (he had once been on the run from the Gestapo).

And Salvador Dalí’s 1969 work, A Mad Tea Party, shows the familiar Dalinian melting clock as a tea table – depicting the mastery of time and how it devours itself and everything else; no time for tea, because everyone has to keep moving round the table.

Back to realism, social and political cartoonist Ralph Steadman turned his attention to Dodgson’s text in 1967. His pictures are audacious and dynamic – a contemporary spin on the social satire of the original – with the White Rabbit

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Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser at the V&A, London; 27 June–10 January 2021; vam.ac.uk * Please check site for latest details on opening

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ROH, JOHAN PERSSON, 2011. COSTUMES BY BOB CROWLEY ©

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© VICTORIA POMONA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

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Left: Zenaida Yanowsky as the Queen of Hearts in The Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Above: the ‘real’ Alice, Alice Liddell, by photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, 1872

OUR EXPERT’S STORY

as an irate commuter with bowler hat and umbrella. During the 1960s, decade of flower power and the summer of love, Alice’s dream adventures converted her into a hippy-trippy icon. Joseph McHugh’s psychedelic Cheshire cat poster, Jefferson Airplane’s song White Rabbit and the Beatles’ I am the Walrus all draw on Dodgson’s stories.

The Beatles deemed him such an important influence that he’s among the faces on Peter Blake’s 1967 photomontage sleeve for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Blake himself created a set of screen prints in 1970

for new editions of both books. Today Alice continues to fascinate. Just some of the current artists who’ve produced their own interpretations include rapper P Diddy, author and illustrator Anthony Browne, artists Maggie Taylor, Nalini Malani and Annalies Štrba, and photographers Annie Leibovitz and Tim Walker. The latter’s 2018 Pirelli calendar recreated Wonderland with an all-black cast including drag artist RuPaul and Naomi Campbell. Seemingly, this little girl, intelligent and rational, self-questioning and brave, wasn’t just revolutionary in her own era, but has become an icon for all time.

Elizabeth Merry Arts Society Accredited Lecturer

• Elizabeth has more than 35 years’ experience lecturing at universities, summer schools, literary societies and museums, and has been an Arts Society Lecturer for over 10 years • She is fascinated by the links between the different branches of the arts, the social and cultural trends underpinning them and how they influence one another • Among the talks she gives is Illustrating Alice – some views of Wonderland

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odak once claimed that 90% of photography ends in disappointment and is thrown away. So why do we photograph – and why are we so often disappointed with the results?

Just after depressing the shutter, how often do we say ‘I hope that comes out’?

But what does that sentence mean?

It isn’t always a question of correct exposure; it will be more about whether the resulting image carries with it something of our own human, emotional response to the event or scene that was before us. A record of what it looked like is insufficient; that is why, on seeing the result, the maker of the work often says: ‘It looked much better than that.’

We all respond to beauty in the landscape. Often, we are fortunate to witness a scene that is fleetingly suspended in one of its most perfect

performances. At that moment there can be an urgent impulse to reach for the camera – for we are all, potentially, landscape photographers, just as the first acknowledgement of a beautiful landscape is surely recognition of that beauty. When driving through a striking landscape one of the occupants of a family car might exclaim to the other: ‘Isn’t that mountain/rainbow/sky/river or tree beautiful?’ But the landscape photographer will take it a step further.

They will see a solitary tree as something noble, stately, sacred; they will await theatrical light to grace it, in the hope of the resulting photograph expressing those qualities.

The family of a landscape photographer had better prepare themselves to arrive late at their destination. Such photographers care nothing of food and refreshment or time. The photograph is »

‘[ANSEL ADAMS] ONCE DESCRIBED THE MEDIUM AS: “RECOGNITION AND PRE-VISUALISATION BLENDED TOGETHER IN ONE SINGLE MOMENT OF AWARENESS” ’ 28 / T H E A RTSS O C IE TY.O RG

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WAITE CHARLIE

ART

Our spring has been one of confinement and anxiety. What better antidote, then, than a masterclass in one of our most mindful art forms – landscape photography. We ask renowned landscape photographer and Arts Society LecturerCharlie Waite what makes the medium so compelling, and how we can make beautiful images this summer

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‘THE LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER MUST BE AS VISUALLY AGILE AS POSSIBLE. THEY MUST NOTICE ALL THE COMPONENT PARTS, ALL THE INGREDIENTS WITHIN THE POTENTIAL PHOTOGRAPH TO BE MADE, AND SEE IT AS A PRODUCTION ’

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CHARLIE WAITE

Landscape Photography, 2

CHARLIE WAITE

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

Above: Mere Downs Above right: The Leaf

priority. The great American landscape photographer Ansel Adams (1902–84), is known for his many quotes, including: ‘You don’t take a photograph, you make it.’ Much has been said of his ability to see and execute landscape images that are enduringly powerful. He once described the medium as: ‘Recognition and pre-visualisation blended together in one single moment of awareness.’ This conveys one of the core considerations behind making a landscape photograph that will, when made into a print, awaken a deep emotional response within its audience. The creator of such images must be assured of some parity between their own emotional response to the subject and the subject itself. It was said of Adams that he was able to ‘transform

geographic reality to transcendent emotional experience’. He had stratospherically high standards. Of image-making he would say: ‘Twelve photographs a year and you are doing well.’ He would be stunned to hear of the ‘recklessness’ that has come with digital photography, where a 64GB card equates to approximately 10,000 jpeg photographs.

Another photographer, Henri CartierBresson, spoke of the need for the ‘head, the heart and the eye to be on the same axis’. The landscape photographer must be as visually agile as possible. They must notice all the component parts, all the ingredients within the potential photograph to be made, and see it as a production. When showing a finished

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Landscape Photography, 3

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

SCENE-SETTER Keen to make a landscape photograph this summer?

Here are Charlie Waite’s five top tips

1

Take your eye around the outside edge of the viewfinder not once, but twice, to be totally familiar with all that exists on the perimeter.

Decide whether what exists on the outside edge supports what takes place within the body of the image. Don’t be too preoccupied with what takes place in the middle alone.

2

Left: Damme Holland

Delve deep into your creation. It may become an A3 print or bigger, much bigger. All components must be evaluated, so consider everything. Decide whether what is included plays an important part in your production. Omit the redundant. You are the producer, art director and cameraperson rolled into one.

You take responsibility. The photograph has no music or dialogue and does not move.

It has to work hard.

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CHARLIE WAITE

If you have a tripod, use it.

It has two functions. Firstly, it allows long time exposures;

image to a viewer, I like to observe the expression when they first see it.

If there is a gasp, then the photograph has succeeded in conveying something of what I felt. It’s almost as if the viewer could have been beside me when I made the image. The landscape photographer must commit, with relish, to a fully immersive experience that consists of wonder, amazement and, sometimes, an almost quasi-religious experience.

Interestingly, even if a photographer feels that the image slipped from their grasp, there is still enrichment in the pursuit of the photograph – and in the path to that moment. My mother always encouraged me to visit art galleries and

secondly, and as important, it enables you to take your photograph seriously. With the aid of a tripod, very fine adjustments of perhaps less than a centimetre can be made. Precision and accuracy are key.

4

Look at where the shadows are and how deep they are. It is surprising how deep, black ‘nothingness’ can dominate a photograph as much as unwanted blown highlights. Find a balance.

Squint to evaluate brightness range. It is the best way to see whether it is too great for the capacity of the sensor or film to record. Investigate neutral density graduated filters and polarising filters.

5

Be aware of light.

A photographer must be acutely alert to the nature and quality of light and how it is falling on the subject. Look at the way in which some surfaces reflect and absorb light. Light is everything.

study great landscape painters, which was how I came upon Claude Lorrain.

I remember being hypnotised by his astonishing ability to work with light, especially in his backlit paintings of architecture and people.

I have become interested in the concept of biophilia, where the hypothesis proposes that human beings possess an innate tendency to seek associations with nature and other forms of life. Recently, I was asked to produce a photograph that would subsequently become a giant backlit transparency for the reception area of a London hospital. It was to be an image of sunshine pouring through a small spinney, with sunbeams designed to

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OUR EXPERT’S STORY

Charlie Waite Arts Society Accredited Lecturer

• Charlie started his working life as an actor. Today, as one of the world’s leading (and multi-awardwinning) landscape photographers (charliewaite.com), his images are held in collections across the globe • He has lectured on the subject of landscape photography for 25 years; he is also the founder of the annual UK Landscape Photographer of the Year and of Light & Land, a leading photographic workshop and tour company (lightandland.co.uk) • Among his Arts Society talks are Behind the Photograph and Seeing in Monochrome

come directly to the viewer. The approach to make this came from leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who is passionate about improving patient health outcomes by introducing landscape photography images into hospital environments, along with developing roof gardens for the benefit of patient morale.

For me, the camera provides a unique conduit to assist us to engage profoundly with the natural world and the sense of wellbeing that comes from it. And nature is a world that we are in danger of becoming blind to; to becoming dislocated from. But with landscape photography there is the hope that we can provide a link that draws us closer to our sacred, natural and beautiful world.

Above: the lightfilled image Charlie captured for the reception of a London hospital

SEE The Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition will open in November in London, then tour the UK. The book to go with the exhibition will launch in October. For up-to-date information, see lpoty.co.uk

‘THE CREATOR OF SUCH IMAGES MUST BE ASSURED OF SOME PARITY BETWEEN THEIR OWN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE SUBJECT AND THE SUBJECT ITSELF ’

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New life, good life

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Relocating to Europe can be made all the easier by consulting financial experts Blevins Franks, who are long-time supporters of The Arts Society events there

Have you ever considered relocating overseas? Deciding to do so is a big – if exciting – decision, but the benefits can be great. You may be spending more time where the climate is kind, offering hours to be spent outdoors. Or you could be somewhere that is culturerich and cosmopolitan, with arresting architecture and history to explore.

Whether the final destination is a buzzy urban environment or a hilltop

white-washed village, the new lifestyle may even see you getting deep into language classes as you prepare for your move. But once in situ, a key part in settling comes with broadening your networks and meeting like-minded people in your chosen location.

One proven way to meet others who share your love for the arts is to join a local Arts Society. As Members know, fascinating talks given in convivial

surroundings, study days on topics of special interest, excursions to discover your area’s art stories and the chance to become involved in voluntary community work in the arts all provide unique opportunities to meet people.

And in countries such as France, Spain, Portugal and Malta, many of those Arts Societies’ events and activities have long been supported

by Blevins Franks.

The company has over 40 years of specialist tax and financial advice expertise for British expatriates living overseas. That expertise covers tax, estate planning, pensions and investment management. If a move abroad is in your sights, Blevins Franks’ website is a good place to start for financial questions that might arise from your plans. You can discover which are the most soughtafter locations for those thinking of a move to Europe, or you can download the company’s in-depth Retiring to Europe guide. In current, changing times, as we transition during Brexit, it is more important than ever to get individual professional advice when thinking of such a move. So just as joining a local Arts Society can help ease you into your new life, so too can you be confident that Blevins Franks could help you look after your finances at such an important time.

‘A KEY PART IN SETTLING COMES WITH BROADENING YOUR NETWORKS AND MEETING LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE’

FIND OUT MORE

Discover how Blevins Franks can help you at blevinsfranks.com; and for information on its book Retiring to Europe, see retiringtoeurope.com For more on The Arts Society’s overseas Societies, see theartssociety.org Blevins Franks Financial Management Limited (BFFM) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, reference number 179731. Where advice is provided outside the UK, via the Insurance Mediation Directive from Malta, the regulatory system differs in some respects from that of the UK. Blevins Franks Trustees Limited is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the administration of trusts and companies. Blevins Franks Tax Limited provides taxation advice; its advisers are fully qualified tax specialists.

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#rijksmuseumfromhome: SUBS CLIENT

MILKMAID THE

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10 great digital initiatives from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, streaming art straight into our homes.

Zoom in on tiny details and hear stories about famous works such as Vermeer’s The Milkmaid in ‘Rijksmuseum Masterpieces Up Close’. Tap into ‘Curators from home’ – where the museum’s curators share short videos from home on their favourite artworks.

See the online collection, with 700,000 images to download free of charge, plus there’s so much more.

Visit rijksmuseum.nl/en/ from-home

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#MYARTSSOCIETY In good – and challenging – times, The Arts Society makes a difference to the lives of thousands. We believe that the arts are vital to our society, culture and economy. Now, as part of a new campaign, we call on you all to share your stories of your experiences of being a part of what we do

ELIZABETH WORDS: OLIVER

W

hat do you get out of your Arts Society membership? Perhaps it’s the opportunity to draw on the expert insight of our lecturers, who give talks on subjects from Ice Age art to Indonesian dance, and the history of tattoos to fakes and forgeries. It might be the

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chance to meet like-minded people, connected by a shared love of the arts; or perhaps your membership represents a way to give something back to your community, through volunteering and grant giving?

When Patricia Fay founded The Arts Society in 1968, she set out to create an organisation that would

promote learning and engagement with the arts, initially among women. While we have evolved over the decades, our ethos of enriching lives through the arts has remained constant. In these past 52 years we have achieved so much. We’ve made museums and galleries accessible to young people. We’ve cared for

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RICHARD EATON

Accredited Lecturer Kate Strasdin at an event at Two Temple Place

historic houses and raised awareness of their cultural relevance. We’ve documented churches and worked to safeguard ancient library collections. We have invested in the arts at grass-roots level, and made arts education available in local communities – often to those who might not otherwise have had it. We’ve launched grants for conservation and craft skills; given young carers time off to enjoy art workshops; and we’ve run special days for refugee families. Today our work continues at a pace, as we strive harder than ever to ensure there is access to the arts for those who need it.

With more than 90,000 members worldwide and over 380 Societies, our membership brings all sorts of people together. During this year of global anxiety, we are calling on our community to support each other and spread positivity. Using the hashtag #MyArtsSociety, write a Facebook status, post a Tweet, take a picture for Instagram or email magazine@theartssociety.org revealing just how The Arts Society has impacted your life for the better.

To get us started, here is a selection of stories from people in different areas of our great organisation.

‘WITH MORE THAN 90,000 MEMBERS WORLDWIDE AND OVER 380 SOCIETIES, OUR MEMBERSHIP BRINGS ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE TOGETHER’

Julie Goldsmith CHAIR OF THE ARTS SOCIETY

When Julie joined The Arts Society on retiring from a 30-year career in publishing, she hoped that it would ‘feed her soul’.

She was not disappointed. ‘I am endlessly amazed that we have such access to world-class speakers,’ she says. And, having retired from one world, her membership has brought new challenges, which she relishes. Starting as a founder member of Burghley DFAS, Julie became a committee member of The Arts Society Oundle, and then stood for election for the national Board of Trustees.

Since 2017 she has been our Chair. ‘I am inspired by the fact that we are run, in the main, by volunteers; people who care so passionately about the arts,’ she says. A personal highlight came in our 50th anniversary year, 2018, when she walked through Westminster Abbey at our Golden Jubilee service. ‘I never imagined I would do that,’ she says. ‘It was a great honour.’

Jacob Moss ACCREDITED ARTS SOCIETY LECTURER

Jacob hadn’t thought about becoming an Arts Society Lecturer until he was contacted by our Head Office, which always has its ear to the ground for talented expert talkers. Someone had heard a talk Jacob had given and the invitation came to apply.

As curator of The Fan Museum in Greenwich – where he plans exhibitions and cares for 8,000 fans – he has a unique subject to offer. Since his first lecture last year, Jacob has shared his expertise with Societies around the country, giving talks including Seduced! Fans and the art of advertising. He has found the warmth and attentiveness shown at his talks touching. ‘It’s wonderful to meet enthusiastic people of all generations,’ he says. The reaction to his talks has also enhanced his own appreciation of his subject. ‘The experience has been eye-opening, and I’m delighted that it’s led to so many Societies coming to visit the museum.’

Kath Bowen HEAD OF HERITAGE VOLUNTEERING

Kath’s journey with us began in 2004, when she joined The Arts Society Chester. On first registering interest in Heritage Volunteering, little did she know where it would lead. Now the National Head of Heritage Volunteering, Kath operates a hectic schedule, whether visiting projects or raising awareness of heritage initiatives among Societies. It’s a role that brings rich experiences.

A personal standout moment was seeing Turner’s paint palette in the Tate Britain archives. For Kath, one of the key things about The Arts Society is our network of volunteers. ‘We have achieved so much nationwide,’ she says. ‘Some of the projects couldn’t have taken place if we hadn’t been able to take them on. For example, three volunteers are currently archiving, cleaning and cataloguing the books of Britain’s last working bell foundry, Taylor’s Bell Foundry. Those archives are part of our nation’s history.’

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Laura Garratt THE ARTS SOCIETY GREAT OUSE VALLEY REPRO OP ART PRODUCTION

‘WHILE WE HAVE EVOLVED OVER THE DECADES, OUR ETHOS OF ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH THE ARTS HAS REMAINED CONSTANT’

BARNETT CRISTIAN

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Arts Society volunteers with Dr Shelly Lockwood at David Parr House, Cambridge

Laura has always loved the arts, but the demands of a full-time job in design meant that her passion had been sidelined. That is, until she came across us. Attracted by the prospect of listening to ‘high-quality speakers’, she went to a lecture and has never looked back. Today, Laura is on the committee for The Arts Society Great Ouse Valley, responsible for the website and social media channels, and for producing programme artwork and flyers.

Before joining, she had never built a website or been on social media. While reconnecting her with the arts, her membership has helped to boost her confidence too. ‘I’m not someone who wants to talk in front of people. To go to committee meetings and speak has really helped me, because people do want to hear what you think. I genuinely think that The Arts Society has brought more enrichment to my life than I could have ever dreamed.’

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Sean Moran

Roo Irvine

THE ARTS SOCIETY NADDER VALLEY

THE ARTS SOCIETY LOMOND AND ARGYLL

‘I wanted to create a Society that was fundamentally different,’ Sean, Chair of The Arts Society Nadder Valley, explains. When he launched the Society in 2018, his vision was for a membership-led Society, with a focus on providing entertaining and educative lectures and a desire to offer ‘something for everyone’. The Society’s approach has already got it noticed, scooping second prize in the Society Committee Award category of the Marsh Awards 2019. But Sean is determined to do more to raise the profile of The Arts Society, particularly among younger people. His Society is in the process of introducing family membership, with programmes for parents and children.

For Sean, it’s his fellow Members that make his time so rewarding. ‘The Arts Society has created such devotion from its membership – some have been Members for decades; what Patricia Fay started is remarkable.’

Not everyone can balance a career as a BBC TV presenter while running an antiques shop and holding a committee position at The Arts Society, but Roo is not afraid of a challenge. An antiques expert on shows including the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt, and the owner of Kilcreggan Antiques, Roo came across The Arts Society following a recommendation from a friend. Learning about our wider outreach work has been particularly enlightening. ‘As a committee member, I’ve realised just how much The Arts Society does for the community. From grants to Young Arts projects, it’s an organisation that gives back so much.’

She is keen to diversify her local Society and attract younger members. ‘I feel blessed to have found The Arts Society and want to make sure it continues to thrive for years to come.’

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RBA Star Students, whose work was nominated by some of our Societies, with BBC arts editor Will Gompertz

The Omnibus Theatre Routes programme, giving children access to the arts, is funded

by The Arts Society Clapham Common

Jo Ward ‘The Arts Society is a lifeline for many people,’ Jo Ward says. In between working as a freelance writer, Jo is the Area Chair for Mainland Europe, a position that involves overseeing the 15 Arts Societies in Europe. She came across The Arts Society shortly after moving to Spain, when she was completing a humanities degree with The Open University. Looking for cultural activities in her area, she thought it would ‘complement her studies’. While The Arts Society has introduced her to new aspects of the arts, it has also enabled her to meet people with interests similar to hers. In her previous role as Chair of her local Society, The Arts Society de la Frontera, Jo helped to organise Young Arts projects, including funding art competitions for local schools. ‘The initiatives have been hugely rewarding, and have helped us to connect and feel part of the wider community,’ she says.

RICHARD EATON

AREA CHAIR FOR MAINLAND EUROPE

Gordon Hewitt RECIPIENT OF THE ARTS SOCIETY GOLD AWARD

RICHARD EATON

We couldn’t run this feature without a salute to Gordon, one of our longest-standing Members, who sadly died in April, aged 100, not long after our interview with him. A talented linguist, former rugby referee, gardening enthusiast and export director at Spode, Gordon helped found what is now The Arts Society North Staffordshire. In 1992, he also founded the Church Recording group for that Society, spending more than three decades documenting the contents of the region’s churches. He described to us how he’d lost count of the church towers he’d climbed. Fellow Members tell us that he was still doing so at age 99, when he was up the bell tower at St Edward’s in Cheddleton to aid their efforts. Last year his Society, Regional Chairs and our National Chair, Julie Goldsmith, came together for Gordon’s 100th birthday celebrations. He was presented with a Gold Award to mark his service to The Arts Society. ‘He was a shining light and example to us all,’ says Margaret Thompstone, Chair of The Arts Society North Staffordshire.

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oldmark began life as a bookshop in the market town of Uppingham nearly 50 years ago. Before long, however, its founder, Mike Goldmark, turned that bookshop into a gallery – and his spirit of adventure and passion for collecting has made Goldmark into a centre for art like no other. It now holds a suite of art and ceramics galleries and is a Royal Television Society-nominated film-maker. It publishes books and magazines and is a printmaker, a framing shop and a hub for scholarship. It even has its own internet TV channel (goldmark.tv). With well over 50,000 works of art and pots in its collection, Goldmark has become a gallery of national and international significance, yet maintains its commitment to the town of its birth.

While the gallery’s innovative exhibitions command attention, its large, ever-growing collection ensures that there is a lot more to see in addition to those shows. Goldmark has works by Picasso, Chagall, Piper, Rego, Rembrandt, Sidney Nolan, Graham Sutherland, Michael Rothenstein, Braque and Frink.

SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT

‘MIKE GOLDMARK’S PASSION FOR COLLECTING HAS MADE THE GALLERY INTO A CENTRE FOR ART LIKE NO OTHER ’

A TROVE FOR THE ARTS Have you discovered Goldmark Gallery yet? Its innovative – and welcoming – approach to art has won it a huge following. Now we’re delighted to welcome Goldmark as a new Arts Society affiliate partner, and mark the moment with a special offer for you

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Jay Goldmark and gallery founder Mike Goldmark

ALL IMAGES: JAY GOLDMARK

It also holds and sells world-class ceramics by potters such as Svend Bayer, Lisa Hammond, Anne Mette Hjortshøj and Phil Rogers. With artworks arriving constantly, a visitor is as likely to discover a haunting picture by an unheralded artist, like Morris Kestelman, propped against a wall, as they are a newly arrived portrait by Augustus John.

Goldmark is known for the warm welcome it gives visitors and freshly made coffee is offered to anyone who happens by. Visitors enjoy conversations with the inimitable Mike and his knowledgeable staff, but there is never pressure to buy – just a desire for people to enjoy the art. And if (in non-Covid times) you visit during lunchtime, you will be invited to join the team’s buffet

Above: among the major 20th-century works to be found at Goldmark are those

by Anthony Gross

(1905–84). This is his watercolour and ink Bayou Landscape Far left: Côte d’Azur

by Picasso

SPECIAL OFFER! lunch (always free of charge). Innovative in its reach to the wider world from its setting in rural Rutland, Goldmark is as easy to visit online as it is in person.

Discover its treasures for yourself and enjoy our special introductory offer, on beautiful John Nash woodcut artworks.

John Nash (1893-1977) was known for his paintings of the English countryside and his pen drawings, wood engravings and lithographs.

Goldmark is offering Members the chance to buy Nash woodcuts from his original blocks, many of which have never previously been editioned, at a special 15% discount on the published price. Members who purchase over £500 worth will also receive a free copy of the Goldmark book John Nash – Artist and Countryman, featuring 350 colour illustrations, by Andrew Lambirth.

FIND OUT MORE

The Arts Society and Goldmark partnership brings benefits for the Society and Members. In each issue there will be a special offer, giving a 15% discount, while the gallery will make a further 10% contribution to The Arts Society. Goldmark will also donate 10% of the purchase price to the Society for purchases outside of special offers. Member tours, preview invitations and talks will happen when circumstances allow. Please state that you are a Member when purchasing and use the code ASNASH for the Nash works and ASSUM if purchasing other works. See goldmarkart.com, email info@ goldmarkart.com, call 01572 821424 or write to Goldmark Gallery, 14 Orange Street, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9SQ THEA RTSSOCIET Y.ORG / 4 3

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Goldmark advertorial, 1

ADVERTORIAL

FLYING MERMAID BY DAVID SWIFT. CRAFTS COUNCIL

With events uncertain, prepare for culture visits later in 2020 – all scheduled at the time of going to press. Do check ahead – or enjoy virtual versions online!

LONDON

Aubrey Beardsley

SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT

Tate Britain SEE ONLINE This much-anticipated show had just opened when the coronavirus pandemic hit Britain.

Beardsley, the charismatic artist whose work shocked and delighted lateVictorian London, created an astonishing body of work in a life cut short, at just 25.

This was the largest exhibition of his drawings for 50 years.

You can still enjoy the show online on Tate’s website, exploring the exhibition room by room, watching the curator’s tour and learning about Beardsley’s work and life. tate.org.uk _

Beautiful People: The Boutique in 1960s Counterculture

OUR EVENTS Don’t miss news of The Arts Society events near you at theartssociety. org/events For our monthly ‘5 top events’ and ‘Instant Expert’ e-talks, sign up to theartssociety.org/ signup * Please check with all sites before your visit

THE GARVAGH MADONNA, ABOUT 1509-10. © THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

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Fashion and Textile Museum 2 OCT–17 JAN 2021 The boutique, with its backdrop of music and racks of revolutionary clothes, symbolised the experimentation and free spirit of the 1960s.

This show explores rare and memorable examples from those stores and the oeuvre of their designers, including pieces worn by the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. ftmlondon.org T: 020 7407 8664

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DON’T MISS

THE CREDIT SUISSE EXHIBITION: RAPHAEL National Gallery 3 OCT–24 JAN 2021

Works from the Louvre, Vatican, Uffizi and the Prado reveal the breadth of Raphael’s skill, creativity and ingenuity. nationalgallery.org.uk T: 020 7747 2885

Woman in the Window Dulwich Picture Gallery 14 OCT–17 JAN 2021 The gallery’s final exhibition of the year will explore the motif of the woman in the window; includes work by Louise Bourgeois, Edgar Degas and Howard Hodgkin. dulwichpicturegallery. org.uk T: 020 8693 5254 _

Faithful and Fearless: Portraits of Dogs Wallace Collection 14 OCT–21 FEB 2021 A special exhibition for dog lovers: this show of 50 works traces the evolution of the representation of man’s best friend, from antiquity to the 21st century. wallacecollection.org T: 020 7563 9500 _

The EY Exhibition: Rodin Tate Modern 21 OCT–21 FEB 2021 Auguste Rodin is best known for his bronze

and marble sculptures, but this exhibition reveals his more radical, experimental side. tate.org.uk T: 020 7887 8888 _

Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul Royal Academy of Arts 15 NOV–28 FEB 2021 Revealing the way Munch has inspired Tracey Emin throughout her career – and showcasing her range of artistic skills. royalacademy.org.uk T: 020 7300 8000 _

A Winged Victory for the Sullen Barbican 19 NOV Unwind with an evening in the company of the neoclassical ambient duo, whose third album, The Undivided Five, was released earlier this year. barbican.org.uk T: 020 7638 4141

THE SOUTH AND EAST OF ENGLAND

Get creative at home Pallant House, Chichester ONGOING Explore art online from the collection and discover their how-to craft activities. pallant.org.uk T: 01243 774557 _

The Lightbox at Home The Lightbox, Woking ONGOING Watch for news on the show Seen Through a Filmic Eye: paintings by Roger Aslin and Teresa Lawler. For now enjoy online offerings from learning to draw to the history of jigsaws. thelightbox.org.uk T: 01483 737800 _

Another Time: Antony Gormley Turner Contemporary, Margate UNTIL 1 NOV Another Time is a series of 100 cast iron figures

What's On, 1

W H AT ’ S O N

craftscouncil.org.uk; T: 020 7806 2500

installed in sites around the world. This is your last chance to see the one in Margate, which is set on Fulsam Rock, next to the Turner Contemporary. It’s only visible three hours before low tide, so check the tide times! turnercontemporary.org T: 01843 233000 _

Gustave Moreau: The Fables Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED Bringing together 34 watercolours painted by Moreau between 1879 and 1885. Nearly half of the original series was lost during the Nazi era and the remaining works have not been displayed since 1906. waddesdon.org.uk T: 01296 820414 _

Tokyo: Art and Photography Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 16 JUL–22 NOV Explore Japan’s capital city through 400 years of art. ashmolean.org T: 01865 278002 _

Jimmy Robert: Akimbo Nottingham Contemporary 26 SEPT-3 JAN 2021 Sculpture, installation, film, works on paper and performance come together in a major survey of the Guadeloupe-born French artist’s work.

nottinghamcontemporary. org T: 0115 948 9750 THE MIDLANDS

Breaking the Mould: sculpture by women since 1945 The New Art Gallery, Walsall 3 JUL–6 SEPT Work from 153 female sculptors, including Elisabeth Frink, Tracey Emin and Rachel Whiteread. thenewartgallerywalsall. org.uk T: 01922 654400 _

Mary Newcomb Compton Verney, Stratford-upon-Avon 24 OCT–3 JAN 2021 Celebrating the work of self-taught artist Mary Newcomb (1922–2008), whose work was focused on rural life – and looking at her influence on succeeding generations of artists and nature writers. comptonverney.org.uk T: 01926 645500 _

Opera North: Jack the Ripper, The Women of Whitechapel Theatre Royal, Nottingham 18 NOV Dame Josephine Barstow, Lesley Garrett and Elin Pritchard star in Ian Bell’s opera evocation of Jack the Ripper’s London. trch.co.uk T: 0115 989 5555

WALES

Explore art National Museum Wales, Cardiff ONGOING Shows may have been postponed but you can still explore the museum’s dazzling collections – and over half a million art objects – online. museum.wales/ collections/online _

Virtual visit Ruthin Craft Centre, The Centre for the Applied Arts, Ruthin ONGOING While closed, the centre has been sharing free

resources online, including films of past jewellery exhibitions by masters such as Wendy Ramshaw.

Tap in the web address to see what’s on offer. ruthincraftcentre.org.uk T: 01824 704774 _

this gallery, on show here for the first time in over 100 years. glynnviviangallery.org T: 01792 516900 _

The Laugharne Weekend Venues around Laugharne 2–4 OCT A weekend festival of literature and the arts.

This year’s line-up includes Everything But The Girl singer and writer Tracey Thorn, photographer Martin Parr and artist Jeremy Deller. thelaugharneweekend. com E: laugharneweekend@ gmail.com _

Journeys Between Art and Life Richard Glynn Vivian (1835–1910) Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea UNTIL 15 OCT 2021 The wealthy Glynn Vivian travelled the world, gathering objects and artworks from every country along the way. These form the collection at

Festival of Voice: One Weekend, a World of Voices Wales Millennium Centre and Portland House, Cardiff 29 OCT–1 NOV Four days of live music, performance and fascinating talks put together by guest curator singer Cate Le Bon. wmc.org.uk T: 029 2063 6464

DON’T MISS

DANCE DIAGONAL

THE WEST OF ENGLAND

Towner Eastbourne UNTIL SPRING 2021

Dance Diagonal, a rainbow-coloured mural on the outside of the Towner building by German artist Lothar Götz, is staying put until spring.

Catch this dazzler of a public art commission while you can. townereastbourne.org.uk; T: 01323 434670

Discover smaller museums JIM STEPHENSON

FLYING MERMAID BY DAVID SWIFT. CRAFTS COUNCIL COLLECTION/IMAGE: TODD WHITE

The Crafts Council Gallery The London opening of the new Crafts Council Gallery, postponed in March, is hotly anticipated. The Crafts Council Collection has some 1,700 objects and the inaugural exhibition, Maker’s Eye, will be the largest-ever showcase of objects from it. Check dates online.

mermaid

Bristol ONGOING Bristol is rich in small museums, which need support now more than ever. Explore stories,

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With events uncertain, prepare for culture visits later in 2020 – all scheduled at the time of going to press. Do check ahead – or enjoy virtual versions online! such as that of Blaise Museum, online. bristolmuseums.org.uk T: 0117 922 3571 _

SUBS

Monsters of the Deep: Science, Fact and Fiction

ART

National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth UNTIL 3 JAN 2021 Dive into the world of deep-sea monsters, both real and imagined. nmmc.co.uk T: 01326 313388 _

Shoephoria!

PRODUCTION

Fashion Museum, Bath UNTIL MAR 2021 From footwear belonging to Queen Mary to designer shoes from Vivienne Westwood and Jimmy Choo, more than 100 pairs of shoes picked from the museum’s collection of over 3,000. fashionmuseum.co.uk T: 01225 477789 _

CLIENT

Motionhouse: Nobody Lighthouse, Poole Centre for the Arts 15 & 16 SEPT Motionhouse brings its brand-new, dance-circus production to Poole.

It then tours until the end of the year. lighthousepoole.co.uk T: 01202 280000 _

OUR EVENTS Please check with all venues for updates on information, which was correct at the time of going to press

21ST CENTURY TYPES, 2005. GRACE LAU

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Gigi Masin Presents Calypso Arnolfini, Bristol 30 OCT Rescheduled from 19 March, Venetian

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DON’T MISS

SEASIDE PHOTOGRAPHED Newlyn Art Gallery and Exchange NEW DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED

Tate St Ives 31 OCT–17 JAN 2021 This is the first solo UK show for the Kosovan artist, who uses a range of media to merge the real and the imagined, the political and the folkloric. tate.org.uk T: 01736 796226

The Hepworth, Wakefield 23 OCT–24 JAN 2021

This exhibition charts Hannah Starkey’s 20-year career, starting with photographs from her 1997 graduation show to her coverage of the 2017 Women’s March, and more recent, as yet unseen, commissions. hepworthwakefield.org T: 01924 247360 _

Ad Minoliti

THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

Discover the galleries

Katie Melua

International Slavery Museum, Liverpool ONGOING Explore the spaces and collections and take the chance to enjoy past exhibitions, such as Journey to Justice, online. liverpoolmuseums.org.uk T: 0151 478 4499 _

The Sage, Gateshead 31 OCT Born in the Georgian city of Kutaisi, Katie and her family emigrated to Belfast when she was nine years old. She has released seven studio albums to date and is one of the UK’s highestselling female recording artists of all time. sagegateshead.com T: 0191 443 4666 _

newlynartgallery.co.uk; T: 01736 363715

Petrit Halilaj

Hannah Starkey

Baltic, Gateshead 24 OCT–21 FEB 2021 The Buenos Aires-based artist explores feminism, gender and sexuality via a range of means, from traditional easel painting to installation. balticmill.com T: 0191 478 1810

Images from the 1850s to the present day, celebrating the British relationship with the seaside.

ambient musician Gigi Masin brings his brand of Balearic chill-out to the Arnolfini as he presents his new album, Calypso. arnolfini.org.uk T: 0117 917 2300 _

had on the British seaside in the 1920s and 1930s. laingartgallery.org.uk T: 0191 278 1611 _

Art Deco By The Sea Laing Museum, Newcastle 17 OCT–27 FEB Something sassy: an exhibition revealing the influence Art Deco

Mark Hearld Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield 21 NOV–21 FEB 2021

Aliza Nisenbaum Tate Liverpool 27 NOV–7 MAR 2021 Following her creation of a public artwork for Brixton Underground Station, Mexican-born artist Aliza Nisenbaum now takes on Liverpool, in a commission from Tate. This is the first chance to see the result. tate.org.uk/liverpool T: 0151 702 7400 _

Alexander Whitley Dance Company: Overflow The Lowry, Salford 13 JAN 2021 Overflow is the latest piece from choreographer Whitley, who mixes contemporary dance with digital technology. thelowry.com T: 08432 086000

The World Museum, Liverpool NEW DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED

If you didn’t catch it at the Barbican, this exhibition on the future of artificial intelligence arrives in Liverpool. liverpoolmuseums.org.uk; T: 0151 478 4393

SCOTLAND

Curator Tours National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh ONGOING Explore the highs and lows of living in Renaissance Scotland or tour the Ancient Egyptian Gallery online with experts. nms.ac.uk T: 0131 624 6200 _

Clara Ursitti: Roots/Routes Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art UNTIL 24 JAN 2021 An exhibition of new work commissioned from the Glasgow-based artist following residences with communities on northeastern Ontario, Canada. glasgowlife.org.uk T: 0141 287 3050 _

New Acquisitions/ From Salvador Dalí to Jenny Saville Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh 4 JUL–7 MAR 2021

A showcase of the gallery’s most recent acquisitions, also including works by Rene Magritte, Pablo Picasso and Damien Hirst. nationalgalleries.org T: 0131 624 6200 _

Titian: Love, Desire, Death Scottish National Gallery 11 JUL–27 SEPT Titian’s five large-scale mythological paintings, the ‘poesie’, are shown together for the first time since 1704. nationalgalleries.org T: 0131 624 6200 _

Temples to Tenements: Photographs of Architecture Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh NEW DATES COMING The fourth in a series of exhibitions centred on the history of photography explores architecture as a record of human life past, present and future.

nationalgalleries.org T: 0131 624 6200 _

collections are a treasure trove of fine and applied art of national and international significance.

Now you can explore some of the 15,000 historical and contemporary artworks online. nmni.com/collections/ art/all _

Jupiter Rising Jupiter Artland 29 & 30 AUG Enjoy Scotland’s newest and smallest music and arts festival, set in a landscape of installations by international artists. jupiterartland.org T: 01506 889900 _

Jools Holland

Night Fever: Designing Club Culture V&A Dundee 31 OCT–14 FEB 2021 From New York’s Studio 54 to Manchester’s Hacienda, explore the world’s most influential nightclubs. vam.ac.uk/dundee T: 01382 411 611

Waterfront Hall, Belfast 22 OCT The irrepressible musician returns with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and guests including Ruby Turner and Marc Almond. waterfront.co.uk T: 028 90334455 _

Armagh Georgian Festival Various venues in Armagh 26–29 NOV Armagh celebrates its rich Georgian heritage with a range of events including a Georgian banquet. visitarmagh.com T: 028 3752 1800

NORTHERN IRELAND

Discover treasures National Museums Northern Ireland ONGOING National Museums Northern Ireland’s art

VIRTUAL TOURS ENJOY MORE ART ONLINE

Hastings Contemporary In a UK first, Hastings Contemporary has teamed up with the D4D Project, Accentuate UK and Bristol Robotics Lab to offer robotic tours. ‘The Double’, a videoconferencing robot, can guide an operator and up to five people on a realtime tour of the gallery and its exhibitions.

E: info@hastings contemporary.org. hastingscontemporary.org T: 01424 72837s _

The Louvre, Paris The Louvre is offering four tours online. The Petite Gallerie’s current exhibition, The Advent of the Artist, features work by Delacroix, Tintoretto and Rembrandt.

The restored Gallerie

d’ApolIon houses another celebrated Delacroix, Apollo Slaying the Serpent Python.

You can also explore the collection of Egyptian antiquities – and view the remains of the moat. louvre.fr/en/visites-enligne _

Tate Britain, London Take a stroll through 500 years of art history

in 12 rooms with Tate Britain’s Walk Through British Art, starting in the 16th century and coming up to date through the work of contemporary artists including Maggi Hambling and Rose Wylie. tate.org.uk/visit/tatebritain/display/walkthrough-british-art

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APIARY BY DESIGNER NERI OXMAN © THE MEDIATED MATTER GROUP

Lithographs, paintings and collages by painter and printmaker Hearld, inspired by the flora and fauna of the British countryside. ysp.org.uk T: 01924 832631 _

W H AT ’ S O N

AI More Than Human

SUBS ART

z LENI RIEFENSTAHL – HITLER’S FILMMAKER

Siân Walters

Howard Smith MA

Tune in from anywhere in the world and participate in live-stream lectures with accredited speaker Siân Walters.

Participate in live Q&A and explore popular topics such as The Glory of Venice and Great Women Artists. Prices from £10.

Further information and booking: arthistoryinfocus.com/courses

The extraordinary graphic story of the actress-turned-producer who was asked

by Hitler to film the powerful propaganda 1934 Nuremberg Rally and then the iconic 1936 Berlin Olympics. Many film clips – a companion lecture to popular GPO Film Unit – Night Mail. Brochure available.

07800 665415; howardsmith.me.uk

z LECTURES, VISITS & SHORT BREAKS

z INSPIRING, ENLIGHTENING & ENTERTAINING ONLINE ART HISTORY LECTURES

Christopher Garibaldi

PRODUCTION

From the art of the English country house, via a history of horseracing and royal patronage, to paintings of the Italian Risorgimento, let me share my experience, enthusiasm and specialist knowledge with your Society. Enquire about cultural tours in the heart of East Anglia. christopher.garibaldi@gmail.com

z DISCOVER INDIAN ART CLIENT

Georgina Bexon FRSA

The art of India is full of exuberance, sensuality and, above all, colour.

Georgina’s live and online talks span the centuries, from the early rock art of the Indus Valley to the glories of Mughal painting and the wonderful vibrancy of India’s modern art. georginabexon@me.com georginabexon.com

z PRE-RAPHAELITE ARTISTS/ ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT/ ART NOUVEAU SPECIALIST Professor Anne Anderson FSA New: Dante Gabriel Rossetti: the PreRaphaelite ‘Bad Boy’; Art Nouveau in Budapest: the Hungarian Secession; Modern Masters: John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Joaquín Sorolla and Peder Severin Krøyer.

023 8069 4385; anne.anderson99@talk21.com anne-anderson.com

z Online now

z Lectures to book

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Stella Grace Lyons Lecturing online every Friday. Offering a range of subjects from Holbein to Hopper, Manet to Mackintosh, Bosch to the ‘Bad Girls’ of Art History!

For online talks, in-person lectures, Study Days and testimonials, visit stellagracelyons.co.uk

z BAROQUE ON A ROLL! CLASSICAL MUSIC IN THE MODERN MEDIA Tony Rawlins Using film clips, soundtracks and live performance, I describe how it: · is increasingly popular · enhances movies · transforms TV commercials · provides melodies for pop hits (I play guitar and sing for this part…)

07768 590132; tonyrawlins@aol.com

z ONLINE & LIVE – ‘THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE’

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z LIVE LECTURES & COURSES ONLINE

Dr Jacqueline Cockburn Book one lecture or a Study Day on The Spanish Golden Age from the Christian Reconquest at the end of 800 years of Islamic rule, to the riches of a Spanish Renaissance featuring artists such as El Greco, Zurbarán, Cotán, Ribalta, Ribera, Velázquez, Murillo and others.

07947 462130; artandcultureandalucia.com

VELÁZQUEZ, TRIUMPH THE OF BACCHUS

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ARTS SOCIETY LECTURERS ROUND-UP

A SELECTION OF OUR LECTURERS REVEAL THEIR CURRENT TALKS AND COURSES

z LISTENING CLUB WITH SANDY

z TALES OF A CURATOR Louise Schofield

Sandy Burnett Join broadcaster and musician Sandy Burnett for a live weekly online class, looking at a great piece of classical music in each – it could be anything from Monteverdi and Mozart to Messiaen. The classes offer context, insights and the chance to have your questions answered. sandyburnett.com/listeningclub

Louise Schofield is an archaeologist, university lecturer, writer and presenter on archaeological TV programmes – most recently earlier this year on Troy. Formerly a curator in the Greek and Roman Antiquities Department at the British Museum, her new lecture is Accursed Artefacts in the British Museum: Tales of a Curator.

07901 554595; loucanbefound@aol.com

z PORTMEIRION – THE WELSH FANTASY VILLAGE

z ANTIQUES, 20TH-CENTURY DESIGN & COLLECTING

Matthew Williams FSA

Mark Hill

Created by ‘rogue architect’ Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in the 1920s, Portmeirion was a playground for artists, aristocrats and intellectuals. This popular presentation examines its architecture and associations, and stylish 1960s Portmeirion Pottery. mattibach.mw@gmail.com matthewwilliamslectures.co.uk

Entertaining, educational and inspirational online and in-person lectures and Study Days drawing on 23 years of experience from working at Sotheby’s, to dealing, and writing 12 books. I am an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and have co-presented four prime-time BBC series. markhill.net/lectures

z ONLINE LECTURES AVAILABLE

z DEBO MITFORD, DEVONSHIRE DUCHESS & HOUSEWIFE

Claire Walsh

VELÁZQUEZ, THE TRIUMPH OF BACCHUS, 1628

z THEY MAKE NO NOISE Nigel Bates

What do conductors have that makes an orchestra respond? A good baton technique? A strong personality?

Their looks? And why are they highly paid despite being silent? Drawing on many performance experiences, Nigel seeks answers. Includes video clips.

07966 416339 nigelbates.net

Simon Seligman

GARY ROGERS

I am offering online lectures using Zoom throughout the coronavirus crisis. Up to 500 members can attend a live session with questions, plus view a follow-up recording.

Please see my website for more details and my full lecture list.

01480 830760; clairewalshlecturer@ gmail.com; clairewalsh.moonfruit.com

For 54 years, Chatsworth was the central purpose and creative joy of Deborah Devonshire’s life. Having known her for 20 years, I celebrate the impact her spirit, vision and character had on the fortunes of Derbyshire’s treasure house. simonseligmanlectures.co.uk

z DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS Nicholas Merchant · List of over 30 lectures available on request · Lecturer since 2004 · Lecturer for travel companies: Hebridean, Noble Caledonia, Travel Editions · Ratings: excellent/very good 01423 340017 merchantn@btconnect.com

For information on future events and talks, see theartssociety.org/events

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YOUR SOCIETIES

News and highlights from Member Societies

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From The Arts Society Shalford – which set a weekly task to create a piece of art – to the buzzy forums on our new site (connected.theartssociety.org) above, responses across Societies during lockdown have been truly uplifting. We love the sound of ‘Art Bites’ from The Arts Society Glaven Valley’s President, art historian and Arts Society Lecturer Mary Alexander. Each week a ‘bite’ of an art story is emailed directly to Members. It’s at times such as this, too, that we are reminded of how membership of The Arts Society can bring support, with Societies such as Chiswick flagging how phone calls to Members who may be isolated needed to become part of its crisis planning. In Australia, so recently affected by bushfires, the spirit of community hasn’t been quelled either. The ‘enforced downtime’, report Members there, ‘has been seen as a golden opportunity to investigate new technologies and digital information sharing platforms’. Members across The

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Arts Society worldwide – perhaps inspired by our spring issue’s feature on poetry – have also been penning prose. Here’s one example, from ADFAS Launceston Tasmania Committee Member Susan Aykut.

Covid-19 stealthily stalks and takes bloom But we in Launceston have discovered Zoom A click to gallery setting provides a view To see committee members anew Despite home and hearth tethered and ground Communications by phone and email abound New ways to continue are sought and found Discussions raised, go round and around Technology embraced with great haste The clock is ticking; no time to waste A new world order needed to deliver Stream a digital lecture, make it a river Time will tell whether members agree If this is the way to go before Covid-free But we’re OK in Launceston for now Hopefully at the end we still take a bow

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OLYMPIC SIGHTS As one of two official artists for Team GB (along with Ben Mosley), Max Denison-Pender had been due in Japan this summer, capturing the team’s prowess on canvas at the Games.

Max specialises in oils, painting from life. Looking ahead now to the 2021 Games, he’s honing his fast sketching skills and learning ‘a smattering of Japanese’. The Arts Society Blackmore Vale has an early connection with Max’s art. The Society has long supported a special Young Arts Award at Guggleton Farm Arts in Dorset (guggletonfarmarts.com). ‘The award encourages young artists in the area,’ says Chair Sheila Williams.

‘The gallery runs an annual exhibition of their work. Each year we have presented a modest financial prize to the winners. It’s our way of giving recognition to young – and often as yet untapped – talent.’

In 2017, aged 18, Max was one of those winners. ‘I won for a cast drawing of St Benedict, patron saint of Europe and students. Awards are always so welcome: they give you a sense of self-validation and the confidence to develop your style further. If you’re worth an award you must be doing something right.’ For more on Max’s work (as seen above), see denisonpender.com

side from the human tragedy, the Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented social, economic, technological and cultural impact on our lives. The Arts Society and its 380 Member Societies face challenges in the FROM OUR months ahead, but I am CHIEF EXECUTIVE confident that, together, Summer 2020 we will get through these times.

Many of you will have followed our response to the situation through our newsletters and our new ‘Connected’ website. For those who have not visited the site and have internet access, do check out our online lectures, blog and forums: despite worldwide fantastic cultural online activity, I believe that our online talks, given by Arts Society Accredited Lecturers, still stand out. We have also provided additional resources for Societies to reach those Members who are not online: we want to stay in touch with you too.

The greatest challenge will be to protect our local Societies. I want to appeal to all our Members – please support your Society and your committee in the coming months, in whatever course of action they decide is appropriate at this point. With so much uncertainty over public gatherings, openings and transport guidelines, none of us know what the coming months will look like.

What we do know is that your committees will do whatever they can to ensure that your Society is still there for you when this crisis is over. Every Society is different, so there will be different solutions, but all are working towards their reopenings, sooner or later. For your committee members to be able to do this, I would ask you to give them your support and your loyalty, and for you to invest in your local community. Our Societies cannot currently do what they normally do so well: bringing people together, connecting them, and being a social and cultural community hub. We know how much you’ve appreciated this in the past – imagine how much more you will value your local Societies when they are back.

Florian Schweizer See connected.theartssociety.org

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Thirlestane Castle in the Scottish Borders has a new School Room Toy Museum, with a collection of Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian toys.

Several thousand items had to be prepared for display and this work has been carried out by Arts Society Heritage Volunteers. Without their help, says Thirlestane Castle Trust, ‘this project could not have been completed’. Ray Cartwright from The Arts Society Borders added: ‘It has taken 14 volunteers over a year to identify, catalogue, photograph and record the contents of the museum. It has been one of the most enjoyable projects that the group has been involved in and brought back memories of the volunteers’ childhoods!’

SOUTH DOWNS BURSARY The Arts Society South Downs has created an annual bursary for artists facing barriers to the art world for reasons of health, disability, social circumstance and isolation, working with the charity Outside In. The funds are from a legacy to the Society by former Member Dr Andrew Edney. In 2019, three artists were awarded bursaries. Eleana Button worked with a mentor to improve her confidence and artistic direction, and submitted work for BBC New Creatives Film. Eva Marschan-Hayes (whose Nostalgic Sussex is shown here) completed an Open University digital photography course and joined online photography organisations. Katya Solyanko attended two portraiture courses. She also worked with a mentor to give her tailored support with her painting. The 2020 round of bursaries will be announced shortly.

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WINNING ART As reported in our spring issue, The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) selected art by 41 young artists out of hundreds of entries for the RBA Star Students Competition 2020, as identified and sent in by Members of Arts Societies across the UK. The RBA then selected the best for exhibition in London.

Congratulations to Charlie Fern of Rossall School in Lancashire, whose work was spotted

by The Arts Society Fylde. He is the winner of The Arts Society RBA prize for his glazed ceramics piece, Apples in crate.

News, 2

For all up-to-date news on Arts Society Study Days, please go to theartssociety.org/ study-days-and-courses

THANET LENDS SUPPORT The Arts Society Thanet was awarded a £1,000 Patricia Fay Memorial Fund grant last year for the Royal Harbour Academy, Ramsgate. Chair Christine Ward reveals, ‘We’re so proud to be supporting the academy, which is in a deprived part of the country.’ The grant enables Year 9 students working on their Silver Artsmark qualification to ask a local artist to work with them to produce a large artwork linked to the Thanet area. As much recycled and donated material will be used as possible. It is hoped to show the work in a public venue, before it is returned to the academy for permanent display.

SUSSEX PLINTH ‘We all know how public sculpture brings the joy of great art to everyone and can be a vital part of a city’s identity and heritage,’ says Karin Janzon, of The Arts Society East Sussex. Now Hove Plinth – the town’s answer to London’s Fourth Plinth – is showcasing contemporary sculpture in the town. The initiative is led by Hove Civic Society, of which Karin is a trustee and project lead for the plinth.

It currently features Constellation (above) by Jonathan Wright. This year, East Sussex and the Sussex Area Arts Societies are supporting fundraising for a second sculpture, Flight of the Langoustine (see a maquette, right)

by Pierre Diamantopoulo.

HARBOROUGH HEIGHTS An initiative between The Arts Society Harborough and the Robert Smyth Academy has seen them jointly host two lectures by artist Ant Hamlyn and Arts Society Lecturer Doug Gillen, for an audience of young artists and Arts Society Members. Ant’s talk revealed how he, as a young artist, has achieved his success, and Doug’s colourful lecture was on Hidden Canvases: Street Art and the City.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO… CLIENT

…The Arts Society winners of this year’s Marsh Awards.

The awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of

volunteers committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.

Individual awards went

to Jenny Gilks (left), Young Arts, Wessex Area; Rosalie Gowlland, Heritage Volunteering, Greater London Area; Helen Sijsling, Society Committee Volunteer, Nerja, Spain; and runner-up Wendy Woods, Highly Commended for Church Recording. The Group Award went to Ross-on-Wye/Malvern Hills/Hereford, Heritage Volunteers Group, and the New Society Committee Award to The Arts Society Maidenhead. The Society Committee Award went to the Mid Wales and Borders Arts Society, with Southampton Society being Highly Commended, while the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Angela Goedicke, for contribution to Church Recording. The awards will be presented later in the year.

CARVING CRAFT

The Arts Society Gerrards Cross has lent support to woodcarving apprentice Jacob Bate (pictured centre). Jacob’s apprenticeship is at Lillyfee Woodcarving Studio, Wooburn Green, where fine bespoke furniture and architectural woodwork is made for clients worldwide. His mentor there is master carver Colin Mantripp, who leads a team of 10 craftspeople. Jacob inherited tools from his grandfather, an expert woodworker, but needed more, which is where the Society has stepped in, with a cheque for £300 to help him obtain them.

Sponsoring sound The Arts Society Oxford has been supporting Soundabout, which brings people with learning difficulties, their families and singers of all ages and abilities together in a choir, with the purpose of building a supportive community around Soundabout families. See soundabout.org.uk

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Art in Spain Thirty-three artists, a live band and children’s art workshops were all part of The Arts Society Benahavis’s annual exhibition Art in Action. The Young Artists’ Competition – for children aged 11 to 14 – was won by Julia Notario Gonzalez for her portrait of Oscar Wilde. _

And from Menorca…

In a successful first year, The Arts Society Menorca reports that membership has grown so fast it now has a waiting list and has had to find a larger venue. _

Send your news! The deadline for our next issue is 13 August. Send to: magazine@theartssociety.org. Only a selection can be featured and the editor reserves the right to edit content.

Happy anniversary to... ...The Arts Society Sedgemoor, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in March.

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ince retiring as an art teacher, Gill Waller – now a potter and Programme Secretary for The Arts Society Basingstoke – had long wanted to embark on a ‘wonderful holiday’. Having seen images from her Arts Society’s trip to St Petersburg, she was keen to explore that city. So when she came across our competition to win a Fred. Olsen Baltic cruise (the company being an Arts Society Travel Affiliate), she entered – and won.

‘I couldn’t believe it,’ she says.

Gill and her husband, Ron, boarded the Boudicca for their 14-night adventure as first-time cruise travellers. Sailing from Dover, the Baltic Song & Dance with Rotterdam Jazz cruise took in destinations including Kiel, Copenhagen, Tallinn and Stockholm. In Copenhagen there were visits to the royal family’s apartments – and the Little Mermaid statue – while in Rotterdam vibrant performances at the city’s jazz festival were on their itinerary.

For Gill, visiting St Petersburg was a particular highlight. During their time

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there the couple took in the State Hermitage Museum, a performance of Swan Lake at The Academy of Russian Ballet, and the Peterhof Palace and Gardens, with their spectacular fountains.

‘No photograph can do those water features justice,’ she says.

Another unforgettable experience was attending the Estonian Song and Dance Festivals, which see performers celebrating Estonian identity.

‘Everyone was dressed in their national costume and the atmosphere was electric,’ Gill explains. ‘We felt humbled to be invited to share their enthusiasm.’

With all the cultural activities on offer, Gill still found time to make the most

FRED. OLSEN CRUISE LINES ©

‘EVERYONE WAS DRESSED IN THEIR NATIONAL COSTUME AND THE ATMOSPHERE WAS ELECTRIC’

During her cruise on the Boudicca (below left), Gill (above) visited the stunning Peterhof Palace fountains (left)

WALLER. SIMON INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH OLIVER

Arts Society Member Gill Waller was the lucky winner of our Fred. Olsen cruise competition, which saw her set sail on a Baltic journey

of the Boudicca’s on-board leisure facilities. When not creating ceramics in her studio at home, she enjoys exercise and took part in the cruise’s Pilates classes, swam in the pool and walked the daily mile around the decks. She also attended the on-board talks, discovering more about the locations on the route from speakers including Arts Society Lecturer Professor Anne Anderson. ‘My experience on the Boudicca was impressive,’ Gill says.

Asked if she would choose to go cruising again, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes. I saw places I had dreamed of visiting, but never thought I would.’

FIND OUT MORE

For information on Gill’s pottery, see www.axfordceramics.co.uk For more on Fred. Olsen’s cruises, visit fredolsencruises.com/grouptravel/the-arts-society-cruises TH EARTS S O CIE TY. O R G / 5 5

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SPECIAL OFFERS

BENEFITS, DISCOUNTS AND TREATS FOR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE ARTS SOCIETY REPRO OP

20% OFF

FINE MARBLED PAPER GIFTS SUBS ART

15% OFF PRODUCTION

PATCH PLANTS

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In recent times we’ve all been keener than ever to create a sense of calm in our homes – and one way is to bring nature into our spaces, in the form of beautiful houseplants. Patch – which launched in 2015 – helps you find the right plants for your home, whether you’re seeking a shade-loving variety or an air-purifying plant. The company then delivers your plants to your door and gives great advice on how to look after them. It is offering Members 15% off all plants and pots when you spend over £60, with free nationwide delivery. Visit patchplants.com and enter the code ‘PEACELILY’.

15% OFF

WORLD OF ART SERIES Thames & Hudson has relaunched its World of Art series with the publication of 20 titles on art, fashion, architecture, design and photography.

The series started in 1958 and 300 titles later remains a go-to set for followers of art and culture. It includes never-before-published books, along with classic volumes in updated editions. Members are offered 15% off the titles when purchased through thamesand hudson.com/edit/books/filtergroup/world-of-art-series.

Just use the code ‘ARTSOCIETY15’.

In 2016 Lucy McGrath won the Cockpit Arts/ The Arts Society Award, giving her a free studio space at Cockpit Arts in London for a year. Her beautiful paper wares are based on ebru, the traditional art of Turkish marbling. One of fewer than 10 professional marblers working in the UK, Lucy is offering 20% off her finely crafted books, marbled items and marbling supplies to Members until 2 November. Go to marmorpaperie.co.uk and enter the code ‘ARTSSOC20’ at the checkout.

35% OFF

FRIDA KAHLO JIGSAW As #IsolationLife has had us spending more time than ever at home, the popularity of jigsaws has been on the rise. Now you can piece together the story of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s life, art and career in this arty example from Laurence King Publishing, illustrated by Laura Callaghan.

Laurence King is offering Members 35% off the price of £14.99 until 31 August. Just use the code ‘ArtSociety35’ at the checkout at laurenceking.com

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BOOKS VERSION

GOOD READS

Our pick of the season’s latest arts and culture titles

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The Art of Advertising Julie Anne Lambert (Bodleian Publishing, £30)

YOSHITOMO NARA Yeewan Koon SUBS

(Phaidon, £79.95)

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Born in 1959, in a traditional Japanese castle town, Yoshitomo Nara has gone on to become an art world sensation. Over the past 30 years his following has become something of a cult, with the artist known particularly for his iconic – and, for many, instantly recognisable – images of ‘big-headed girls’. Now comes this definitive monograph on the artist, made in close collaboration with him, and authored by Yeewan Koon, associate professor in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Hong Kong. Over five chapters Koon examines the key themes in Nara’s fascinating, broad practice. There is the punk and classic rock music that has been a core influence; his collaborative projects with other artists and musicians; his photography; and work in response to the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster that affected his home region. And there are those ‘big-headed girls’, his sweetly sinister images that embody kawaii (cuteness) and cultural references.

They speak of the artist’s personal memories, dark humour and, says Koon, ‘they convey Nara’s conviction that art needs to find emotional connection and generate empathy’. Packed with some 400 illustrations, including works never published, this book tells the compelling story of Nara’s life and career to date, offering a fascinating glimpse into the internal world of this intriguing artist, whose work is never quite what it seems.

‘AND THERE ARE THOSE “BIG-HEADED GIRLS”, HIS SWEETLY SINISTER IMAGES THAT EMBODY KAWAII (CUTENESS) AND CULTURAL REFERENCES’

We’d been to a talk on art and advertising by Arts Society Lecturer Tony Rawlins when this book caught our eye. Authored by the librarian of the John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera at Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, it’s filled with arresting images. It also examines how surviving paper advertisements from the 18th century to the 1930s reveal the finer details of (sometimes bizarre) products for sale – Dr Henry’s ‘Chemical Nervous Medicine’ anyone?

This is social history and art rolled into one.

Murder Most Florid: Inside the Mind of a Forensic Botanist Dr Mark Spencer (Quadrille, £16.99) Dr Mark Spencer is a former curator of the British and Irish Herbarium at the Natural History Museum, London, and one of our Accredited Lecturers. His work takes him to sites of nature and clinical laboratories, where he examines the botanical evidence of serious crimes. Mark’s know-how plays a part in securing convictions.

This gripping account of his work is a reminder of how the ancient art of botanical science has a key role to play in modern-day crime investigation.

MacDonald Gill: Charting a Life Caroline Walker (Unicorn, £30) Another great read from one of our Accredited Lecturers, this new book promises to place the often overshadowed graphic artist MacDonald ‘Max’ Gill (1884–1947) in the spotlight. Gill was also an architect, letterer and mural painter, but is probably best known for his picture poster maps that ‘made passengers miss their trains yet go on smiling’. Brother of Eric Gill, ‘Max’ was also the great-uncle of the author of this work, the first publication to fully tell his story.

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ARCHAIC GREEK SCULPTURE I’ve always loved drawing the figure. When I studied classics at Newcastle University I chose Archaic Greek sculpture for my dissertation, so I could immerse myself in it, going back to the earliest form of figurative sculpture. This then sparked my interest in going to Florence to study figurative drawing for a year.

PHILIP-LORCA DICORCIA AND EDWARD HOPPER I discovered the work of American photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia during my A levels at school. His haunting photographs, with their careful staging of light, remind me of the paintings of Edward Hopper, my father’s favourite artist, whose work I grew up around.

Their style shares a quiet stillness – something I try to emulate in my own work. I go back to these two artists time and again.

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PAUL GAUGUIN I refer to Gauguin’s work almost daily for colour inspiration, and his self-portraits are some of my favourites. He had an incredible ability to convey the sitter’s very being, especially his own in his self-portraits. The likeness doesn’t have to be perfect or even that literal, if their soul is encapsulated in the paint. That’s the mark of a truly great portrait artist. Admiring Gauguin and his paintings has its difficulties, but I could not write this list without citing his importance.

THE ART THAT MADE ME Artist Christabel Blackburn is the winner of the 2020 Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. Here, she reveals the art forms that have particular meaning for her

Self-Portrait Dedicated to Carrière by Paul Gauguin, painted in the years 1888–89

MUSICAL THEATRE My father is a classical pianist and my mother’s brother is Richard Thompson, a folk guitarist and founder of the folk rock band Fairport Convention, so music has heavily influenced my life.

When you’ve been brought up with it, it is both comforting and uplifting. I’ve always loved the thrill of watching lots of people singing on stage together and particularly love musical theatre. As a teenager, when my friends were listening to pop music, I was watching West Side Story and Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals.

BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE/ THE NATIONAL THEATRE Architect Sir Denys Lasdun’s most famous building is the National Theatre, my favourite in London. I am endlessly inspired by it and other Brutalist architecture. I am quite chaotic, so I get great pleasure from clean lines, pared-back surfaces and cool colours. This type of architecture lends itself perfectly to this, even more so if there is sunlight hitting it. There’s a quote by the American architect Louis I Kahn that goes: ‘The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building.’

Among her works for Portrait Artist of the Year, Christabel painted Niles Rogers and a self-portrait

SEE For more on Christabel’s work, see christabelblackburn.com

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